


If Life Couldn’t Get Any Weirder…

by CitrusSP



Category: Skullgirls (Video Game)
Genre: Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Dysfunctional Family, F/F, F/M, Family Bonding, Fluff, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, Minor Character Death, Past Character Death, Recovered Memories
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2020-12-20 23:11:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21064760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CitrusSP/pseuds/CitrusSP
Summary: Marie has regained control of the Skull Heart and reunites with best friend, Patricia, now known as Peacock. But New Meridian still thinks the Skullgirl is evil. To make matters worse, the Medici have been committing more crimes than they ever have. With a new group of friends, will Marie get her wish while making New Meridian understand that she is not evil? Or will she fail, causing chaos in New Meridian?





	1. Why We’re Here

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go! For those newcomers, this is basically a remake of an older work I did titled ‘Skullgirls: Weakening of the Skull Heart’. While it was fun to start, it eventually became the polar opposite. I felt like I made so many mistakes, that I felt the need to remake the fic. Anyways, hope you enjoy the story! And let us hope that this turns out better than the predecessor.  
Also on a side note, it’ll start off slow, but as it progresses, it’ll make use of the M Rating.

“Patricia, when you said you needed help, I thought it’d be help on chores. Not running from the police.”

Cue Marie carrying the Toon Car in the air, flying away from police helicopters.

“It ain’t my fault the law says to go slow! Those maroons don’t know what true freedom is!” Peacock exclaimed.

“ _ GO TO THE GROUND AND SURRENDER YOURSELVES OR WE WILL USE FORCE!”  _ One of the helicopter pilots exclaimed into the microphone.

“Oi, you got guns! We do too!”

“Patricia…” Marie said, worriedly.

“What? Afraid we’ll have to clean up their guts on the ground?”

“Patricia.” Marie said, sternly.

“It’ll be reeeal quick. Just let me and Avery take care of them!” Avery then came out of Peacock’s top hat with a shotgun as Peacock grabbed two of her pistols.

_ “THEY GOT GUNS!! FIRE!!’ _

At that moment, Marie sighed and dropped the Car with Avery screaming his head off. They got a good shot on Marie’s shoulder, her yelling in pain and holding her wound. Trying her best to ignore the pain, Marie flew towards the copters and went in between them, earning her a bit more time to go down. She flew down as fast as she could, eventually meeting with Peacock.

“Well, here to save little ol’ me, Miss?”

“…”

Marie just stayed silent as she went under the car, grabbing it, and flew away as fast as she could.

* * *

“That was the best chase I’ve ever experienced!” Avery chanted.

The trio went to Lab 8’s remains as their hideout. It made Marie very sad knowing she was the cause of it’s ruins. But right now, she wasn’t feeling sad. She was just pissed. Well, she’d never be THAT pissed with Peacock, but still mad.

“If it happened the other way, we could’ve gotten arrested at best, killed at worst. Don’t do stuff like that again, please.” Marie said, rubbing her head, sitting on the couch.

“What, Why not?”

“Patricia, we could’ve died. We could’ve been captured. We even ran the risk of selling our hideout to the Police. Whatever your doing, it’s dangerous. We’re trying to keep a low profile here.”

“Fine…” Peacock grumbled, sitting next to Marie.

The two were engulfed in silence.

“I’m not saying you can’t. Just not this time.”

Peacock’s grouch had a smile forming in the corner.

...that is until she saw Marie’s bullet wound.

“Marie, are you okay?” Peacock asked worriedly.

“Hm? Oh, I’m fine. Burns a bit, but it’ll heal up quickly.”

The two were engulfed in silence for a bit.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I involved you in that mess. You wouldn’t have gotten hurt if I-“

“Stop.”

“Huh?”

“Stop. I chose to be with you Patricia. I know of the consequences you and I can bring. But you know that too. You were the reason I was able to overcome the Skull Heart’s control. But nobody else knows that. Nor will they believe it so easily. But as long as we’re together, there isn’t a thing we can’t do.”

“Yeah…”

She knew what she was referring to.

Back when they were war slaves.

The slave owners were cruel and shitty to them for no reason. But everytime they got to clean stuff or get food with each other were the best experiences.

But then came that fateful night. Peacock was beaten and got her eyes gouged out. Marie tried to help, but Patricia told her to run. She did that, running to the Cathedral, where she met Double and wished upon the Skullheart, becoming the Skullgirl.

And Marie knew she got it.

“Do you ever want to turn back time? To that day? Change everything that happened?” Marie asked.

“...I don’t know…I mean, for one, I would like to keep my own eyes.” Peacock said she put a finger through her eyehole. “But…I don’t know…Lab 8 did bring me some awesome memories. Being with you also brings memories. Hell, what we just did earlier could classify as a memory.” Peacock chuckled. “Our first chase from the police together.”

Marie smiled at that. Beside the part where she got shot and the fact where they could’ve been arrested and/or killed, it was kinda fun.

“Being with you back then is the only reason I lived long enough to be with you now. So, I’d say nah. I’m already fine the way I am.”

Marie kind of blushed at a few key words, but...she was right.

The two of them could finally spend some time together without having to worry about a war, slave owners, and military men walking around, trying to keep everyone ‘safe’. Sure, society was afraid of her, but she didn’t give two shits about anyone else’s opinions on her or Peacock. She was happy being with Patricia, and that's all she needed. 

"Well, if you knuckle heads are done flirting with each other, we still need a lot of work to get done if we wanna call this place 'home'." Avery said, putting a big emphasis on home. 

“Alright!” Peacock said, standing up. She put her hand in front of Marie, who gladly accepted.

“Let’s clean this dump!”

Marie grinned and nodded confidently.

And even though Peacock wouldn’t be caught dead saying this, Marie’s grin was very cute.


	2. Something Different yet Familiar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Filia has been searching for the Skull Heart for a bit now. And thanks to a new ally, she now realizes that it probably wouldn't be the best idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping to get this out for the release of Skullgirls 2nd Encore on the Switch, but I wasn’t. But hey, at least it’s Squigly’s birthday today so...happy birthday, Squigly! And (late) congrats to Lab Zero Games for Skullgirls on Switch! (Now all that’s left is for Filia to be in Smash and I’ll be complete). Anyways, I kept y’all waiting long enough. Please enjoy!

Loneliness. Fear. Emptiness.

Those are the usual thoughts and feelings Filia goes through everyday. Living on a train wasn’t really what she’d call a relaxing place to call home. Even with a hoodie, she really didn't feel comfortable.

Even with Samson and the occasional homeless person hitching a ride, she felt lonely. She didn’t really have anyone to talk to that shared her interests or have an interesting conversation that wasn't kinda depressing or sad. Granted, she enjoyed helping them out through talking about their problems, but they never talked to her about problems she had.

'I sound really selfish right now…' Filia thought, facepalming herself.

Samson's yawning broke her out of her thoughts.

"When on Earth are we gonna get it off this!?!?"

"...l don't know…" Filia whispered.

"Well, hopefully it's soon, I'm starting to go crazy from this shit!"

"Samson…we've only been here for two days.”

"Hey, I know you want to get out of here too! And don't lie to me about it."

Filia just looked down.

She really did want to be out of here. But it was the only place she could go really.

As the train slowed down to a stop, she put her hood on.

"Mph!?!" Samson's comment now muffled by the hood.

She did this so she could hide her face from pedestrians while not showing off anything to newcomers on the train.

She couldn’t see well, but she saw a dark plum dress with red and white striped stockings.

She was walking up to her and Filia was mentally freaking out.

‘OhnoohnoohnoOHNO!!’

“Um, excuse me?”

The voice was echoey but sounded so sweet and so innocent. It…actually made Filia’s heart stop. She slowly looked up to see more of who she was. She saw a huge chest plate in the shape of a skull, she had oversized red and white sleeves covering her hands, and had purple skin while having dark purple hair, covering one of her eyes. The visible eye looked tired but were so sweet to look at. And finally, she had her mouth covered with string.

Filia just couldn’t help it, but she found herself staring at her.

“Is it okay if I sat next to you?”

“S-SURE!”

Filia covered her mouth afterward. The girl lightly laughed. Samson silently chuckled.

“Sorry if I startled you.” The girl said as she sat down next to Filia.

“Oh! I-It's no problem. My name’s Filia.” She said while putting her hand out.

“Sienna Contiello. But you can call me Squigly.” She said shaking her hand.

‘ _ It sounds familiar…’ _ Filia thought.

“And you…” when she heard a gentlemanly voice, she shook out of her thoughts as a bony snake come out of her head. “...can call me Leviathan.” He said as he bowed.

“Nice to meet you both!” Filia exclaimed.

She was so eager in fact, she didn’t pay attention to Samson who said he was about to jump out and ‘beat that snake up’.

“So what are you doing here?” Squigly asked.

Filia supposed she could tell her the truth. She looked at both her sides and remembered that nobody was in their car.

“To tell you the truth, I have amnesia and can’t remember my past.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Squigly said, sounding authentically apologetic.

“It’s okay. And I heard from someone that if I wish on something called the ‘Skull Heart’, I could get my memories back. So that’s what I’m trying to do; find the Skullgirl and wish for my memories back.”

Squigly froze.

“Um, Squigly are you okay?”

“Um, sorry. It’s just that…”

“Just what?”

“...have you ever heard about those who wished on the Skull Heart before?”

“No, why?”

Squigly looked down.

“The Skull Heart has been here for who knows how long. But one thing was always common; it’d lead to destruction. One of the first people that it made a huge effect on was Nancy Renoir.”

Filia’s head suddenly felt light. She held it with both her hands, eyes still widened.

She got some memories back. In the classroom, talking about previous Skullgirls, Nancy being the biggest.

It wasn’t anything important, but it was still big.

“Are you okay?”

“I got some memories back!”

“You did?”

“It’s nothing big, but I remember talking about it in class.”

“Well, something is better than nothing.” Leviathan added.

“I agree. Anyways, can you continue?”

Squigly nodded.

“So after Nancy was defeated, New Meridian seemed at peace. For a few years. Again, the Skull Heart returned. Only this time, it was… Selene Contiello…my own mother.”

Flashbacks to the classroom came back. Only this time, describing how much of a bloody sight it was.

But she quickly dismissed that. Squigly here was in pain and she wanted to help her in any way she could.

“I-I’m very sorry.”

“It’s alright. You didn’t know. Anyways, at my mom’s birthday party, while we were opening her presents…”

“Squigly?”

“Do you know about the Medici Mafia?”

Oh, Filia knows. She knows alright. A few days ago, while she was eating at a diner, a man named Riccardo tried to sexually assault her. Everytime she remembered their name, she can feel him rubbing on her thighs. It disgusted her to this day.

“Yeah, I know them.”

“Well…they came over and killed everyone...including me.”

“Wait, so you’re a-“

Squigly put out her other hand, which had no skin nor muscle. Just bone.

“...yes.”

Filia noticed what she was about to say and Squigly’s current mood.

“Ohmygod, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that! I was just clarifying."

"Oh…"

Squigly still seemed really down. Filia started to feel  _ really  _ bad. The silence between the two would've killed her, if Squigly hadn't continued.

"...I had to kill her. And since I was brought back to life by the Skull Heart, I died along with it. The reason I came back to life is because the Skull Heart did."

The tears that threatened to release started to spill.

"So that's why I'm destroying it again! Even if I die and come back over and over again, nobody would have to suffer what I went through!"

Squigly was now full-on sobbing. She curled into a ball and continued her sobbing. Filia started tearing up as well. It hurt because not only does she not know what to do, but it hurt because all she could do was sit there and watch.

“Squigly, I…I am so sorry…”

Squigly looked at her.

“Don’t apologize.” She said, calming down slowly and wiping her tears. “I just had to let it out after so long.”

Filia looked down at her hands in shame.

...and started blushing when she saw both of Squigly's hands on them. She looked up to the still upset, but calm Squigly.

"So I beg you…please don't wish on the Skull Heart. I don't know you that much, but with what I do know, you are the nicest person I have met in a while. And I don't want the bad stuff happening to you."

Filia didn't know what to say or do. She still wanted her memories back, but with what Squigly was telling her, it probably would be best if she didn't wish on the Skull Heart for them.

"I promise." Filia said, smiling.

Squigly returned the smile.

"Thank you, Filia."

Everything finally seemed well between the two girls ...until Samson finally revealed himself.

He burst out of the hood.

"Jesus fuck, it felt like eternity in there." Samson yawned.

“SAMSON!” Filia exclaimed in embarrassment.

“Samson?!?!” Leviathan exclaimed, coming out of Squigly's head.

Filia and Squigly looked at him.

“Wait, You two know each other?” Filia and Squigly said simultaneously.

"Unfortunately, yes. Back then, we'd be considered good friends. Until I saw him for the real Buffon he truly is." Leviathan said, hate spewing at the end of the sentence.

"I'd say it was the other way around. But I can see you got yourself a fine host though! That ass is something to die for!"

"SAMSON!!!"

"You better take that back. Nobody gets to threaten my lady and get away with it." Leviathan spat.

"Was that a threat?" Samson said with hate.

Filia shot Squigly an apologetic look, in which Squigly did the same.

"Take. That. BACK!" Samson said, attacking Leviathan.

"Hey!" "Yowch!"

The entire car was shaking with the amount of fighting the two parasites were doing. Thankfully, nobody else was in the car. But all of this really affected poor Filia and Squigly.

"Leviathan, please stop!" "SAMSON, YOU'RE HURTING US!"

Thanks to the fighting, none of them were able to hear gunshots nearby

Then, they heard an explosion. All of the fighting instantly stopped. The train stopped as well. The conductor spoke over the intercom.

'Attention, an explosion destroyed the railway. Please remain calm as the authorities are on their way. I repeat, please remain cal-'

An explosion happened at the car Filia and Squigly were in.

As the explosion flew the car off the train tracks, Filia got one last look at Squigly before they landed. Even in absolute danger, she still looked so elegant.

* * *

When Squigly woke up, she found herself on the street with train car a few meters away from her. As she got up, she held her head. She hit her head on a pole and that was the biggest injury she had suffered. Granted, she did feel a little pain and bruises here and there, but otherwise she was fine.

She couldn't say the same about Filia though. Blood was dripping from her forehead and Samson protected her from most of the glass shards, although a few of them did hit Filia.

As Squigly steadily went to Filia's side, she heard gunshots again, only they were closer. She also noticed all the other cars exploded too. Only two people were dead while the other passengers were seriously injured and tried to hide.

"F-Filia?"

She lightly shook her a few times.

“Filia!”

Filia slowly opened her eyes, grunting in pain.

“Oh, thank god you’re okay!”

Squigly hugged Filia, who blushed a bit. She hugged back, although it did hurt. A lot.

“Yeah I’m still alive, thanks for checking in on me.” Samson sarcastically said.

When they heard another explosion, they quickly disbanded. A police officer’s body flew right next to them, his skin being burnt and blood pouring out of almost every limb of his body.

Squigly yelped in surprise while Filia covered her mouth, trying not to vomit at the sight. The two got up and ran around the car to see a gunfight happening between the Medici and the Police. While the cops had pistols, assault rifles, all that, the Medici had those PLUS a rocket launcher.

Squigly felt her rage boil up inside her entire being. The ones who took her family and her own life were here, killing more innocents. But she kept her composure.

“TAKE US IN, WE DARE YOU TO!” One of the Medici goons yelled to the police as he shot the rocket launcher.

More police officers went flying as their screams of agony were the last things they spoke.

“We need help! Please somebody! Anybody!” One of the cops cried, before he got shot through the head.

Filia couldn’t stand it anymore. She fell to her knees and threw up.

“Filia!” Squigly exclaimed as she went down to her.

“I-I’m sorry…I just couldn’t handle it anymore.” Tears of pain started to streak down her face.

All of Squigly's anger started to increase.

"We have to stop them." Squigly said, trying her best to not sound livid.

Filia looked back to see all of the bodies. All of the people they have murdered. And suddenly found herself standing up, confidence slowly coming back.

"We have to. We can't let them hurt any more people." Filia agreed.

"I concur. These wretched criminals must atone for their crimes." Leviathan said.

"Finally, time for some action!" Samson exclaimed.

“Are you ready?” Filia asked.

“Have been for over a decade.” Squigly nodded.

Two of the goons that were using guns that were behind everyone was their first target. They could take them out without being noticed. So they quickly went around one of the buildings and arrived behind them. Filia motioned for Samson to go, while Squigly did the same. Samson wrapped a tendril around one of the goons necks while Leviathan used his tail for the other goon. They made noises of struggle so they acted quickly. They slammed their heads together, hard enough to knock them unconscious, and thankfully not enough to kill them. As their unconscious bodies slid out of their grasps, Filia and Squigly slowly moved forward.

“Keep shooting! They’ll pussy out!” The goon with the rocket launcher exclaimed. 

Filia and Squigly looked at each other. 

Filia mouthed something Squigly understood.

If he was taken out, they’d get noticed. But only 3 of them had guns while the other 5 had knives, machetes, and brass knuckles. Squigly nodded, mentioning for her to go on.

“WE OWN THIS CITY NOW FUCKING SHITHEADS!”

The Rocket Launcher user was so immersed in this one sided fight, he didn’t notice the two black tendrils above him. 

Then, very quickly, Samson’s tendrils wrapped around his face. Out of fear, He accidentally shot a rocket. Thankfully it hit an empty room in an apartment complex nearby. Samson then brought him to the air and slammed him to the ground.

Just as suspected, the others noticed.

The three who had guns quickly shot them without hesitation.

Samson and Leviathan covered their respective owners. They kept shooting at the two parasites until…

_ Click click click _

Filia and Squigly saw their chance.

"Leviathan!" Squigly called.

Leviathan took a deep breath and then shot out three pink fireballs. Those three hit the three goons with guns. It didn't burn them to death, but it was hot enough to where it would hurt.

And finally, the last 5 goons. They prepared their brass knuckles, knives, and machetes.

Filia and Squigly looked at each other.

"For the Medici mafia!!" All 5 of them cried as they ran after the two parasite users.

Filia and Squigly ran towards the five as well.

"Samson,  _ hairball _ !"

"You got it kid!"

While Filia and Samson turned into a ball, Squigly swung Leviathan's tail around.

"Now!" Filia and Samson called.

Squigly threw the tail and Samson caught it with a spare tendril.

Squigly then set spun around a few times. Then rolled him them off as fast as she could. With the Hairball coming towards them very quickly, they had barely any time to react before Samson and Filia went right through then, sending them flying.

As Samson retracted back to his normal self and Filia trying to slow herself down, It seemed everything was taken care of.

They walked over to one of the goons.

"Explain what happened here." Filia said, sternly. She was a nice and kind spirit, but when she got pissed off, she would get  _ really _ pissed off.

The goon opened his eyes before they widened.

"What?"

"Heh, I thought Ottomo killed ya. Well, long time no see, Filia."

Filia just had enough. She started choking him with her own hands.

"Filia, calm down! Let go!" Squigly said, hoping to get her to stop.

"Not until I get an answer. Who are you and how do you know my name?" Filia said, her words starting to have a lot more edge to them.

"You trying to pretend or you actually forgot? You're one of us. You’re a Medici.”

Nothing in life hit harder than that. Not only is she shook from that fact, but a lot of memories started bleeding in because of said fact. Her life before Samson, How her parents were like, How she had a best friend named Carol...and how she almost died.

Her entire being felt numb as she let go of the goon.

Then she remembered… 

Squigly.

She knew she hated the Medici with all of her heart. And she couldn’t find it in herself to face her like this.

So, she ran.

Running as fast as she could, she never looked back, trying to ignore Squigly yelling her name.

* * *

Squigly was shocked to hear the news.

Filia was one of the kindest people she has met, and the fact that she was a Medici just surprised her.

But she didn’t hate her.

She was a sweetheart with a twisted bloodline. Even though she didn’t know much about how she was like in the past, part of her felt as though she wasn’t much different from how she is now.

But before she could say anything, Filia ran away.

“Wh-Filia!” Squigly started running after her, only to realize that she couldn’t run very fast because of her dress.

“Leviathan!”

Leviathan’s tail turned into a burner, which shot enough fire to let her float in the air and at the right angle to make her go forward too.

She was now fast enough to keep track of Filia.

“She’s really fast!” Squigly said.

...then saw her trip and fall.

“...But clumsy.” Leviathan finished.

Before Filia could get up, Squigly landed right next to her.

“Filia, why are you running?!?!”

“…” Filia just stayed silent. She wasn’t crying or anything, but she was clearly upset.

“Filia, please, just tell me.”

“…You hate Medicis. I am a Medici. I thought that you would start hating me because of that. Plus I still don’t remember everything about my past, so I fear I might’ve done terrible things to others. So I just ran…afraid of how you’d react and afraid of what I would do.”

“Filia…I don’t hate you. You’ve been nothing but very kind and understanding to me this past hour or two. And even though I don’t know much about your past either, I think that you were just as nice as you are now. And if that isn’t the case, I know you well enough to know you won’t do that stuff again, and that you probably regret those decisions. Don’t let who you could’ve been back then determine who you are now. Because I’m glad to call the Filia I know my friend.”

Filia smiled. And it wasn’t one of her other smiles. This was an authentic happy smile.

“Thank you. I’m glad you think about me like that. Because I feel the same about you.” Filia said.

Squigly swore her smile was infectious. Because she found herself smiling too.

“Uh, if you two are done making up, I haven’t eaten in a few hours and I’m fucking starving.” Samson said, ruining another great moment between the two.

“Well, I do know a great diner around here. It’s kinda cheap too.” Filia said. “You wanna come along?”

“Sure.” Squigly nodded.

“I am also a bit famished. Lead the way, Miss Filia.” Leviathan said.

“Alright! Let’s go!” Filia said, walking toward the diner with Squigly following.

They didn’t know each other were thinking the same thing, but they both thought how lucky they were to find each other.

For the first time in a while, Filia and Squigly felt truly happy.


	3. Meetup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s finally time that the 4 characters introduced so far meetup. How will this go? You already know the answer

Marie never thought she'd like a TV show. A cartoon, to be more specific.

Well, she's not a huge fan, like Peacock, but 'Annie: Girl of the Stars!' was something she genuinely liked. She mostly enjoyed the story and characters while, unsurprisingly, Peacock enjoyed the action. As she finished up making the popcorn, she heard Peacock calling out that it was ready to start.

Marie quickly floated to couch, put the bowl of popcorn on the table, and cuddled with Peacock.

‘Now, it’s time for the new episode of…ANNIE: GIRL OF THE STA-‘

Then static appeared before a news broadcast appeared.

‘ _ We interrupt this scheduled program for some breaking news. _ ’

“Uuuuuuugggghhhhhhhhh…” Peacock groaned, slowly sliding off the couch. 

While Marie was slightly disappointed, she wondered what they desperately needed to say.

_ ‘Two young girls stop a Medici attack?’ _ The newsperson sounded like he was actually questioning it. As if it was impossible to do that.

Peacock and Marie froze with Peacock sat up from the ground so fast, her cigar flew out of her mouth.

_ ‘Today a major shootout happened between the Medici and the Police. The Medicis had the upper hand, killing countless officers, wounding innocents, and destroying a train along with its tracks. But, as the police lost all hope…’ _

Then, an image of a schoolgirl with moving hair and a purple girl in a dress with a bony snake popping out of her head fighting the Medici appeared next to the newsperson.

_ ‘…two brave and young girls came out of nowhere and aided the remaining police officers. While most of the police officers that were in the scene are now deceased, the survivors are grateful.’ _

It cut to one of the living police officers, who was in tears.

“ _ I thought that was it. I thought I was going to die. Thought I was never see my wife and son again. But thanks to those two girls, I don’t have to leave my family. Not just yet.” _

From the remaining officers to innocent bystanders that were wounded, the praises kept coming in.

Peacock and Marie just looked at each other. They just didn’t know what to say.

_ ‘One of the bystanders has identified the girls as Filia Medici, granddaughter of Vitale Medici, and one that looks identical to Sienna Contiello, who died long ago due to the Medicis. Why one of their own blood stopped them and how one would come back alive, nobody knows. But I can say this for everyone. Thank you, Filia and Sienna.’ _

It then cut back to the Annie intro, but…Peacock and Marie weren’t paying attention anymore. To say that they were confused yet surprised was a big understatement.

“Ah!” Squigly exclaimed while holding her head.

“Drank it too fast?” Filia asked, smiling.

‘ _ Even with a brain freeze, she’s still adorable!!! Oh my god!!!’ _

All Squigly could do is nod.

They went to ‘the Cheezy Diner’ and Squigly got a strawberry shake while Filia got a vanilla shake and cheeseburger, with the two of them sharing fries.

They sat at the bar so they could see the small TV better.

“It’s been a while, Fil-bil! So who’s your new friend here?” The bartender, Bret, asked.

“My name is Squigly. Nice to meet you. Why do you call her ‘Fil-Bil’?”

“Well, me and Fil-Bil over here go way back. Actually, next month is the 5th anniversary that Filia first came.”

“Really? Wow, time goes by fast.” Filia said.

“Yep!” He said before turning back to Squigly. “I’m glad you’re friends with Fil-Bil. She’s one of the nicest customers I’ve met. So nice she wouldn’t even hurt a fly.” He chuckled, as he winked at Filia.

Filia awkwardly chuckled, while rubbing the back of her neck.

Bret knew that Filia was a lesbian. Knew from the moment she first stepped in there. Back then, she was basically a small gay mess. Even though it’s been a while since he’s seen her with a girl, he knows she’s still gay. Maybe even a bigger gay mess than when he first met her.

As they continued their conversation, Samson rolled his eyes at the scene and saw what was on the TV.

“Uh, kid?” He said, tapping her shoulder.

“Yes, Samson?”

“You may wanna look at the TV.”

Filia turned around as the bartender turned it up for them. Squigly and Leviathan watched with them.

_ ‘Today a major shootout happened between the Medici and the Police. The Medicis had the upper hand, killing countless officers, wounding innocents, and destroying a train along with its tracks. But, as the police lost all hope…’ _

It then showed an image of the two fighting the Medicis.

_ ‘…two brave and young girls came out of nowhere and aided the remaining police officers. While most of the police officers that were in the scene are now deceased, the survivors are grateful.’ _

Filia and Squigly looked at each other, their eyes widened with surprise.

“We-we’re on the news…” Filia muttered.

“WOOO! Now I’m gonna get all the Parasite chicks!” Samson cheered.

“Is that and you being an awful person all you think about?” Leviathan scoffed.

Squigly just watched on silently, hoping they wouldn’t know who she is.

_ ‘One of the bystanders has identified the girls as Filia Medici, granddaughter of Vitale Medici, and one that looks identical to Sienna Contiello, who died long ago due to the Medicis. Why one of their own blood stopped them and how one would come back alive, nobody knows. But I can say this for everyone. Thank you, Filia and Sienna.’ _

As Filia felt happiness, Squigly felt a sense of dread go through her. If one of the Medicis watched this, her name would spread like wildfire. The Medicis could find her and kill her again. She just walked out of the diner without Filia noticing.

“I feel like we did something great, Squigly. Don’t you-“ she turned around to notice she was gone. “-agree…”

She looked out the window to see Squigly walking away. She slammed the money on the counter before running after her.

“Thanks, Bret! See ya later!”

“See ya, Fil-Bil!”

Filia caught up to Squigly.

“Squigly, where are you going?” Filia asked.

Squigly stopped to look to her.

“Now that my name is out there, the Medici may try to find me to kill me once and for all. So I’m going to destroy the Skull Heart before they find me and kill me again.”

As she turned around to continue walking, she felt a little bit of guilt for leaving Filia so soon.

“Do…you want to come help?”

Filia grinned.

“I’ll gladly help you anytime!”

“Alright! Now with Miss Filia on our side, the Skullgirl won’t stand a chance!” Leviathan exclaimed, uncharacteristically hyped.

“And me!” Samson yelled.

“And you too, I guess.” 

“Stupid fucking bonehead.” Samson muttered.

“Well, where to, madam?” Filia said.

...then came to the realization what she said and blushed as red as a tomato and started stuttering, like the useless lesbian that she is.

Squigly started giggling before it turned into genuine laughter. Squigly hasn’t laughed so hard in almost a decade. Then Filia started laughing with her. 

As Peacock and Marie dressed up in their nightgowns, they talked about the news from earlier.

“I think this is a huge deal!” Peacock said.

“Why do you think so, Patricia?”

“Cuz, the Medici get what’s comin’ to ‘em AND we’re not the ones doin’ it! It’s a win-win. Although I was wishing to shoot a few of them down…” she said, muttering that last part to herself.

Marie thought about it more. She was right. They could spend their time together without having to worry about the Medici again.

“Yeah…” She said.

She then dashed towards Peacock and hugged her really hard.

“You’ve been getting a little clingy lately.” Peacock said, reciprocating the hug.

“Yeah right… _ a little _ …” Avery muttered.

“I guess I am. But with you, I wouldn’t mind at all.”

Then they heard a few knocks on their door. Since their camera system and security monitors weren’t operational, they just decided not to answer. Then the knocking happened again, only more harsh. They ignored it again.

“Eh, it’s probably just some Girl Scouts selling cookies.” Avery said.

Then the door crashed down.

“Well, I don’t know your version of Girl Scouts, but they ain’t sellin’ cookies.” Peacock exclaimed.

The two girls from the news were right in front of them. The one with the moving hair, who was Filia, and the purple girl in the dress with a snake in her head, named Sienna.

Then the hair spoke, “Oh, we’re Girl Scouts, Alright! We’re selling the new ‘Punch’ flavor! Have a taste!”

A tendril turned into a fist and extended out and punched Peacock square in the jaw, sending her flying and crashing onto the table.

“Patricia!”

Marie then found herself wrapped by the snake.

“Stand down. We don’t want to make this harder than it is.” Sienna said, her fist glowing with purple fire with the help of the snake’s tail.

“We don’t wanna make this any harder than it needs to be.” Filia said, the hair turning into a chainsaw.

As the hair chainsaw quickly approached her, she felt something familiar about Sienna. Then it hit her. She was somewhat connected to Marie. She thought about pain towards her heart. Then she yelled in pain, holding her chest. The snake also cried in pain.

“Squigly!”

Peacock then shot Filia in the hip with her toon gun. She cried out in pain as she fell down to the ground. Thankfully, her toon gun only shot a mini bowling ball, not fast enough to kill and go through like an actual bullet, but still hurt like hell.

Now, Sienna and Filia were on the ground, breathing heavily and holding the places that hurt.

Peacock then took out a real gun and pointed it at Filia.

“Trying to kill me and Marie will be the last mistake you bozos will ever make!” Peacock said, murder in her voice.

“Wait.” Marie said, putting her hand on the gun, shaking her head at Peacock.

“I-Wha...ugh, fine.” Peacock said as she put the gun up.

Marie sat down near Squigly.

“I know why you’re here.”

Squigly slowly looked up at Marie.

“Your reason for doing this. What motivated you to do this. But I can assure you, I’m not a Skullgirl. Not anymore. I’m just a person who looks and has the powers of one, but I have control over the Skull Heart now.”

As Squigly’s pain started to slowly fade away, she started to feel a bit guilty. She was just trying to live a normal life, and she just barged in trying to take it away from her.

“So, please. Don’t kill me.” Marie asked.

Squigly just stared at the ground, full of regret.

“...I’m sorry.”

Marie sat up, smiling softly.

“I-I’m sorry too.” Filia said, messing with her fingers.

“Both of your apologies are accepted.”

“Wha-Just like that!?!” Peacock yelled.

“Yes, ‘just like that’.” Marie replied.

“Awww, and I was getting excited for nothin’!” Samson exclaimed as Filia and Squigly got up.

“Yeah, the hairball’s right! I was ready for some bloodshed!” Peacock co-signed.

“Same here!” Avery whined, putting his knife away.

“Heh, I like these kids.”

“Enough of your blabbering Samson. I don’t think it’s going to help us here.” Leviathan said.

“Hey, the toon’s doing it too!”

As the two parasites went on and on, Squigly and Filia were about to leave.

“Well, sorry again for trying to kill you!” Filia said, still feeling awkward about that.

“Yeah…it won’t happen again.” Squigly co-signed.

“It’s alright.” Marie said.

Peacock just mumbled something.

As the two girls were leaving, Squigly remembered something. And it seems Marie read her mind.

“Oh! If you need a place to stay, there's more rooms here.” Marie said.

Peacock just felt like she brain cells just came down to single digits.

“Hm? Oh yeah, I forgot that we don’t have a place to rest anymore.” Filia said.

“We would love that. Thank you.” Squigly said.

That did it.

Peacock felt her last brain cells pop.

And her red face didn’t go unnoticed by Marie.

“Uh, Patricia, are you okay?”

She didn’t respond until she grabbed Marie’s arm and walked over to another room.

“Patricia?”

“These mooks just tried to  _ kill _ us literally just a minute ago and now we’re giving them shelter!?! What if they try to kill us again?”

“I can read Sienna’s mind because she is connected with me. When she said that she wasn’t going to try that again, I could feel that she meant it.”

“B-B-But…”

“These two need somewhere to stay for a while, Patricia. And we can’t just turn a blind eye.”

Peacock breathed in. “.......uuuuuuggghhhhhhh! Fine.”

Marie smiled. “Thanks…Peacock” she whispered.

Peacock had a very slight blush on her face.

“Yeah, Yeah, let’s go tell those two girls the news then.”

The younger girls walked up to the two.

Marie looked at Peacock.

“Alright, we’ll let you guys stay on a few conditions. First and foremost, no sex, day or night. There’s kids here.” Peacock said, pointing to Marie.

Even though that was a joke, it apparently worked on the two girls. Even though Squigly had the slightest of blushes, Filia’s face was yet again entirely glowing red.

Peacock noticed this and smirked.

“Rule two, no kissing! Not with tongue, especially!”

While Squigly and Marie looked at her with confusion in their faces, Filia somehow got redder.

“And finally, no sharin’ the same be-“

“W-We’ll be sure to follow those ‘rules’!” Filia just blurted out.

“Jeez, Kid. I was just jokin’ with ya! But just...don’t break anything, okay?” Peacock said as she walked back to her room.

Filia didn’t know how to feel. So she just said goodnight to Marie and Squigly and went to look for a random room to crash.

“…Well, I can tell she has a crush on you.” Marie said.

“Yeah…” Squigly said, looking down.

“What’s wrong?”

Squigly just slowly walked over to the couch and Marie sat next to her. Squigly played with her fingers before she spoke up.

“…it’s just…I don’t know why she likes me. I’m just a zombie…she deserves someone who’s truly alive. Even then, I…I don’t know how I feel about her. She’s nice and all, but I just met her a few hours ago.”

“Hmm…well, for starters, I can tell Filia doesn’t care that you’re a zombie or not. She truly loves you. And give it some time. Hang out with her more, do something together and maybe then, you’ll get your answer.”

Squigly started smiling once again.

“Yeah…Thank you, Marie.”

“Anytime.” Marie yawned. “Well, I’m going to bed with Patricia. You can sleep in any of the free rooms.”

“Thanks.”

As Marie went into Peacock’s room and Squigly just thought about sleeping on the couch, Filia was still looking for a room.

“No…no…no.”

Even though she knew this would be temporary, she still wanted a room that looked nice.

None of them did.

It was basically like the same room. Same metal walls, metal floors, and even beds and desks. However, there was one room that had kids toys, but they were destroyed and sleeping with a creepy, destroyed doll in the room is definitely one of the things Filia does NOT want to do.

“Uuuggghhh, just pick a damn room already!” Samson said, finally impatient with her saying ‘no’ repeatedly. 

Choosing a random one, Filia went in. 

It looked like all the others with the exception of what was on the desk.

She saw a portrait. She picked it up to examine it.

It had a young girl with blue eyes, light blue eyeliner, short, lavender hair, and three ovals pointed toward each other on her forehead.

‘...why do you look so...familiar?’ Filia thought.

She thought she had all her memories back. But apparently, there are still some under wraps. And she’s going to unravel them.

“Hey, Samson, does this girl look familiar to you?”

She got her answer in snores.

Samson was already sleeping.

Filia sighed.

All these things she needs to do…

Find Carol, figure out who this familiar looking girl is, fight the Medici, get acquainted with Peacock and Marie, and confess her feelings to Squ-

She slapped herself before she thought that last thought.

She finally decided she had enough for today and laid on the bed.

‘Life’s gonna get a little crazy these next few weeks…I can tell.’ She thought.

As sleep was slowly taking over, she thought over what happened the last few hours.

‘Back then, I thought life couldn’t get any weirder.’ Filia smiled. ‘Now I realize, it’s just gonna get weirder from here.’


	4. What’s a Fuer Drive? Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol’s parents have looked for Carol for a very long time now. As a last resort, they ask Filia for assistance. Easier said than done, right? It would be, if there wasn’t a masked lunatic trying to kill her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 2nd Year Anniversary!  
I can’t believe it’s been two years already. Anyways, as a gift, I’ll not only update this fic, but I’ll also update the Ashen Demons, Umaru and Kirie, and Early Friends today as well! Enjoy!

_ She seemed so lonely… _

_ She sat in the corner of the room, eating her lunch. She was also reading a book. I don’t remember what book she was reading. But I do remember my classmate’s reaction. They seemed to be… afraid. Like she was some fragile bomb. Like any second, she would explode the school. _

_ But… I didn’t see anything wrong with her. _

_ She… looked normal. Her blonde hair was so… smooth. _

_ As I walked towards her, I felt glares of the others. Some judgemental, some worried. _

_ But as I approached her, she seemed to be so invested in her book that she didn’t notice me. _

_ So I nervously spoke up. _

_ “H-hi.” _

_ She looked up from her book _

_ “Hi.” _

_ “I was wondering… can I sit with you?” _

_ Her eyes widened. _

_ “Uh, sure!” _

_ As I sat down across from her, I smiled. _

_ “So what’s your name?” _

_ Her eyes widened. She looked genuinely surprised. _

_ “What?” _

_ “You’re… the first person I’ve talked to that doesn’t know who I am.” _

_ I did know who she was. Her name was spread like a wildfire. I just wanted to be polite. So I kept it to myself. _

_ But that didn’t deter her from smiling. “My name is Filia Medici.” _

_ “Caroline Wilson. But you can call me Carol for short.” _

_ “Nice to meet you, Carol.” _

_ “Likewise. What book are you reading?” _

_ Like I said… I don’t remember anything after that. _

_ All I remember is how our friendship started… _

_ How we became best friends… _

_ How I turned… into  _ ** _this._ **

*** * ***

It was around 2:00 p.m. Two customers walked into the Cheezy Diner.

“Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson! Long time no see!” Bret greeted.

“Hey, Bret.” Bruce Wilson said.

“So, it’ll be the usual order, right?”

“Yeah…” said Macy Wilson.

“Comin’ right up!” As Bret went to the kitchen and told the cooks what to make, the married couple just sat there and stared at various things. It was astonishing to them that even though a year has passed, he still remembers their orders.

After a while of uncomfortable silence, Bret came back with their order.

The two just poked at their food and waited a while before they even started to eat. Bret would have been a fool to not notice this.

“Hey, you two alright?”

“...” Macy was silent for a short period before tears appeared in her eyes.

“It’s been a full year since Carol has disappeared.” Bruce explained.

“Oh… I’m so sorry. I really hope she’s fine out there.” Bret said, remembering the times she came in with her friend.

“We’re still not giving up on her… not just yet.” Bruce said, solemnly.

“We’re going to keep on looking until we find her… I know she’s still out there… somewhere…” Macy said, wiping the tears out of her eyes.

“I know you’ll find her. And the meal’s on the house.”

“Oh, no you don’t have to.” Bret said, taking out his wallet.

“I know. I want to.” Bret said, before walking back behind the counter.

Bret and Macy sat there silently for a while longer. Then the two dug into their food. It was slightly cold by then, but it didn’t stop them from eating.

“So… what do we do next?” Macy asked Bruce.

“… I was thinking… we haven't asked Filia yet.”

“Bruce…”

“Listen, I know they got into some beef before the two disappeared. But what other option do we have?”

“…” Macy looked at the table. “Fine. But where do we find her?”

At that moment, the doorbell rang. The two were too busy thinking of ideals to notice who came through.

“Hey, Fil-Bil! What’ll be today?”

The Wilson’s were confused with that name so they looked towards the girl and Bret.

“Evening, Bret! I’m actually gonna get some things to-go.”

Bruce and Macy looked at each other. That girl’s voice was… familiar. She wore a white hat and wore a school uniform. She seemed to be carrying a few bags of groceries too.

Bruce thought back to the name “Fil-Bil.”

As the girl ordered and sat down at the bar, the two were considering walking up to her to talk. But they decided to wait until she got her order.

So they finished their meals and waited until the girl got her meal.

“Take care, Fil-Bil!”

“You too, Bret!”

As the girl turned around, there was no denying it.

That girl was Filia.

The only difference was that her eyes were now red and her cheeks were more red.

So the Wilson’s left their cash and walked out the diner.

“You two take care!”

“Thank you, Bret!” Bruce called out before the two followed Filia.

* * *

“When’s the kid coming back?! I’m starving!”

“Patricia, just wait a little while longer. It wouldn’t kill you to do that.”

Peacock, Marie, and Squigly were cleaning up the ruins even more and rearranging their own rooms, while Filia went to go get groceries, as well as lunch.

“Is she always like this?” Squigly quietly asked Marie.

“Only when she’s hungry. Or mad beyond belief.”

“I don’t understand how one could live like this…” Leviathan stated.

“She’s a really nice person… you just need to know her more.”

They heard the front door open and close.

“We’re back!” Filia said, putting her hat on a stand.

“Took you long enough.” Peacock said, walking over to the table.

“Woah, you guys were really busy. This looks really cool!” Filia said, looking over the living room.

“Glad you enjoy it.” Marie said.

“Everyone contributed to this room. Glad to see it paid off in the end.” Squigly said.

As everyone grabbed their meal, they heard a few knocks on the door.

“I’ll get it.” Filia said, walking over to the door.

As the others got ready to hide, Filia opened the door partially. She saw two people, who felt very familiar.

“Can I help you?”

The two adults looked at each other.

“Filia? It’s us.”

Filia looked confused for a bit.

“I’m so sorry. I lost my memories a while ago, so if I knew you back then, can you tell me who you two are?”

“Oh, my apologies. I’m Bruce Wilson, and this is my wife, Macy Wilson. We were here to ask you about our daughter, Caroline Wilson.”

Then it struck her.

“Mr. and Mrs. Wilson?”

The two parents nodded.

“You came here to ask me where Carol was, right?”

“Yes, we were hoping you would know where she is.”

“Sorry, I don’t have the slightest clue…”

“Oh…”

“...but I’ll help you find her.”

“R-really? You would do that?”

“Of course! I know we got into an argument before she disappeared, yet I don’t remember why. Still, I wanna get my friend back.”

“That’d be greatly appreciated! Also wasn’t your hair blonde before? Why change it to black?”

“Uh… long story.”

As they finished up their conversation, Filia returned inside.

“Thanks, Samson, for staying quiet all this time.”

Silence.

“Samson?”

“Huh?”

“Were you… sleeping this whole time?!”

“No. I was just resting my body for an hour… or two.”

Filia sighed.

“That explains why you didn’t act pervy over me trying out new clothes…” she murmured.

“You what?”

“Nothing.”

* * *

_ Pain… _

_ That’s all I feel. _

_ Everytime I move, I feel all the spikes… the needles… the electrical cords… all running against my muscles. The cold of nighttime made everything worse. _

“M-monster! MONSTER!” a lady across the street yelled before running away.

_ I’ve been hearing that… all day. Ever since I escaped Lab 0. _

_ Speaking of, I want to go back there and kill Brain Drain and Valentine. They were the ones who turned me into this freak! _

_ But Filia… she must have used her Medici friends to contact them to get revenge on me after that fight. _

_ Filia…  _

** _Filia… _ **

_ I want to kill so many people… Filia, Brain Drain, and Valentine for ruining my life and the Skullgirl to get my life back. Somehow… _

_ But I need to get the Skullgirl. I want to be back to normal as fast as I could. _

_ As I felt my energy refill, I used my Fuer Drive to float into the sky. And evolve it into flight. _

_ I felt the Skullgirl’s presence somewhere… _

_ But where? _

_ * * * _

“Can somebody explain to me why we’re looking for this “Carol” schmuck?” Peacock asked.

The four girls were in Peacock’s car, ready to go out.

“She’s been missing ever since she and I had an argument a year or two ago. I forgot how long it’s been. But ever since then, she’s been missing. I wanna go look for her just in case something bad happened.” Filia answered.

“I mean… if her parents were out looking for her for a year or two, wouldn’t they have tried everything we may try? Or better yet, stuff we can’t?”

“True… But we still have to try.”

“What if she got captured by the Medicis?” Marie asked.

“Then… we’ll figure that out once we get to it.”

“Ugh, fine. The faster we get this done, the better.” Peacock said, setting the gear before driving off to the city.

“Don’t do anything illegal again, Patricia.”

Peacock grumbled as she slowed the car down a bit.

“Fine, but if anything starts shootin’ at us, don’t blame me if I do.”

“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that until the Medicis try and do something.” Squigly added.

As soon as that was said, a metal spike whizzed past Filia and Squigly and into the dashboard.

“ARE YOU FUCKING SURE ABOUT THAT?!?!” Peacock said, speeding up.

“M’lady, I think you wanna take a look at the culprit.” Leviathan said.

Squigly turned around to see nothing.

“Upwards.”

Squigly looked up.

“Oh.”

“What the hell is that?! It’s like a human helicopter!” Peacock yelled.

“Keep your eyes on the road, kid!” Samson yelled at Peacock.

As the figure looked to be shooting more spikes, Filia shouted for everyone to get down. After they dodged the spikes, they looked back up to see the figure flying towards them and picking Filia up.

“Filia!”

“Help!”

Samson bit the figure’s arm, forcing the figure to throw Filia to a nearby rooftop. After rolling for a bit, Filia recovered. The figure landed in front of her, forcing her to jump back a bit.

The figure had a brown mask with scars and staples on them. Her brown hair was put into a bun. Her eyes glowed red, like she was some sort of machine.

Her physique was slim. You can see some bone on her arms and back. You can also see veins that were all black. It was surprising she picked Filia up at all. She also had a blade on her tail.

“You **!** ”

“M-me?”

“You’ll pay for what you did to me!”

As the character charged, Filia quickly got out of the way.

“I don’t know what I did to you! I don’t even know who you are!”

“You know damn well who I am! I-“

Before she could say something of note, she got punched by a huge skull hand. Filia turned around and saw Marie disintegrating the bones.

“Filia, are you okay?” Marie flew over to her.

“I’m fine.”

The figure started coughing up in pain. She ripped off her mask to cough up some blood. As the figure angrily looked up at the two, Filia’s eyes widened in surprise.

“...C-Carol?”

“That’s Carol?” Marie asked.

“S-She wasn’t like this before…”

“I wasn’t… until  _ you. _ ”

“Carol, I don’t know what I did to you. I know we fought, I know, but I didn’t do this to you!”

“...”

“Carol… I don’t know what or who did this to you…but let us help you…please…” Filia said, slowly walking towards Carol.

As she stretched her hand out, Carol slashed at Filia, scratching her new clothes.

“I don’t need  _ your _ help! I can kill Valentine and Brain Drain on my own!”

Carol then ran off the building.

“Carol!”

As Marie and Filia ran to the edge, they saw Carol flying away. To who knows where.

“...damnit.” Filia facepalmed.

Peacock and Squigly finally got up onto the roof.

“What happened?” Squigly asked.

“...I… don’t know…”


	5. Lab 8’s Back!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lab 8 has returned to their home and Filia goes out to look for Carol. How will everything turn out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t worry, I haven’t forgot about Skullgirls! Honestly, I had a feeling it was turning out a whole like the other one, so I took a break. But once I got more ideas, I made two chapters! The second one focusing on a certain character I was going to introduce way later, but seeing as she’ll be a new character in Mobile and 2nd Encore not too long from now, I decided to bump her up. Enjoy these two chapters!

Filia just sat on the bench outside, watching the moon. As much as Squigly and Marie would like to comfort her, she said she’d rather be alone at the moment.

“Can’t imagine what she’s going through… her best friend gone rogue like that.” Squigly said.

“She looked like she needed help. And not just physically.” Marie added.

Peacock would rather stay out of the conversation, but even then, she kind of felt bad for Filia.

“...Hey, where’d she go?”

As the trio looked to see where she was, she was no longer there. Squigly got up and walked outside. Filia was still outside, just over the railing.

She looked back to see Squigly.

“Sorry, I just saw that you weren’t there and wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“It-it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” Filia said, tracing a shape with her finger on the railing.

Things between the two got silent and awkward.

Squigly coughed. “Well, pardon me.” She said, going back inside.

Filia sighed.

“I don’t know what I did to Carol. I don’t know  _ if  _ I did that to Carol.”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t?” Samson asked.

“Now… I’m starting to have second thoughts.” Filia said.

Filia got up from the railing and laid her back on a spotlight. It seemed to have a bomb with an ‘8’ in the middle.

“What if I did make a hit or something? My memories aren’t the best, and with a “family” like mine, it wouldn’t be too hard to convince them to do it.”

“I’ll just say this, kid. With the way you were back then, I doubt it. You were bawling your eyes out after the argument and when you realized she was missing.”

Filia blushed in embarrassment.

“I-I did, didn’t I?”

“Yep. It was like watching a human manifestation of Niagara Falls.”

Filia chuckled at that.

“Stop teasing me!”

“Hey, it’s working, isn’t it?”

“Yeah… thanks, Samson.”

“Anytime.”

As Filia got up from the spotlight, she accidentally held onto the lever and pushed it down, causing her to trip up and fall.

As she quickly got up and brushed herself off, she noticed that the spotlight turned on. She looked up at the sky and saw the logo.

“Uh, kid? Maybe you should turn that off.”

“Why? It looks pretty cool.”

“Cool enough to lure people in?”

“...good point.”

Filia then lifted the lever up, causing it to turn off.

“Let’s just hope nobody saw it.” Filia said, going back inside.

“Doubt it. Who would be looking up at the sky conveniently as we turned it on?”

“True.” 

* * *

“Leduc, I don’t know how long you’re going to keep this up, but wouldn’t it be best to take a break.” Hive said.

“Hannah’s right. It wouldn’t hurt to take a break, kid.” Big Band added.

“I can’t. I need to be prepared for next time.” Leduc replied.

“For the Skullgirl? We don’t know if she’s alive or not. Peacock hasn’t come back yet, but the Skullgirl hasn’t done anything big yet.”

“Still. Wouldn’t hurt to train more either.”

As Hive sighed and looked back at the lab from under the bridge, she noticed the Lab 8 Spotlight turned on.

She gasped.

“Ben, Leduc, come look!”

As the two came over, they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

“Di-did Peacock do that?”

“I don’t know. But we need to go back to make sure.”

The three ran over to the rest of the Lab 8 Family.

“The Lab 8 Spotlight was turned on.”

Ileum gasped.

“Does that mean Peacock-“

“It could also mean someone else is there.” Stanley added

“I’m thinking the boss and Avery clobbered that puny Skullgirl into the next 7 years.” Andy Anvil said.

“Yeah! I believe it’s the boss!” Tommy Ten-Tons added.

“Does that mean we get to go home?” One of the kids asked Ileum.

“Probably.”

“In any case, we should go and check tomorrow.”

Hive looked back and saw that the spotlight was gone.

* * *

The next morning, Filia went out to continue her search for Carol alone, leaving Marie, Peacock, and Squigly all alone.

“Soo… what should we do?” Squigly asked.

Peacock shrugged. “Annie doesn’t come on until tomorrow and we already have the things we need.”

“Guess we should just lie down and do nothing today.” Marie said.

So for a few hours, they did nothing. Squigly would go off to sing to herself, Marie would do some chores, and Peacock would just sit down and watch the T.V. But a few hours later, they heard the doorbell. They knew Filia would’ve come in already if it was her. Peacock, Marie, and Squigly went to the door.

Peacock saw the monitor they added near the door.

It was the Lab 8 Crew.

Peacock’s jaw literally dropped to the ground.

“Oh shit!” Peacock whispered.

“Oh no…” Marie remembered,

“Who are they?” Squigly asked.

“Long story short, they’re the original owners of this place. I lived there with them until they left and now they’re back!”

“Why is that a bad thing?”

“They may or may not have been formed to kill Marie, and back when the Skull Heart still took over Marie, she may or may not have destroyed this place and…”

Peacock stopped, but Marie knew.

“...and?” Squigly asked.

Peacock was about to deny saying anything.

“Another story for another time.” Marie said.

“Nobody’s answering. Knock it down.”

As Peacock was freaking out, she looked back at the two.

Well, she would’ve if they didn’t disappear. So Peacock just went along with it.

“Who is it?! If it’s the Girl Scouts, I don’t want your stinkin’ cookies and you have 5 seconds to get the hell out!”

“Peacock! It’s us.” Big Band said.

“Glad to see she hasn’t changed at all…” Hive murmured.

Peacock opened the door.

“Ah! Welcome back!” Peacock said, walking away.

“You’re not happy to see us?” Leduc asked.

“Oh, I am! I was just watching a good show that reminded me of you guys!”

“...I don’t hear the T.V. on.” One of the kids said.

‘Damn super hearing…’ Peacock cursed to herself.

“Oh, I just turned it off before I got here.”

“...suuure…” Hive said.

“Hannah, don’t be suspicious. Even Peacock can’t just sit around watching cartoons  _ all _ day.” Stanley said.

“Yeah, Hannah! I do a lot more than that.”

Hive just rolled her eyes.

“Well, we’re glad to know you’re okay!” Ileum said.

“Boss! You gotta tell us!” Tommy Ten-Tons said.

“HOW DID YOU BEAT THE SKULLGIRL?” Andy Anvil continued.

“Did you shoot her down?!” 

“Use your Argus Agony?”

“Did Avery help you?”

“Did you beat her to a pulp and leave her begging for her to stay alive before ending her miserable excuse of a life?!”

“Can you two just shut up!” Hive exclaimed.

“You see what we’ve had to deal with for the past… month?” Andy Anvil 

“It’s only been a few weeks.” Hive said.

“Past few weeks! Hey, I don’t need your stinkin’ help!” Andy Anvil said.

Hive just sighed in response.

“Sorry boys, but that’s a story for another time!” Peacock said.

As everyone went to explore the Lab, Hive stayed back with Peacock.

“So, nobody else lives here?”

“Nope! Nobody at all.”

“Are you sure? Cuz I heard talking from behind the door. Didn’t understand it but I heard it.”

“Then you must be going crazy.”

Hive got close to Peacock’s face. 

“My patience is starting to run really low. So I’ll ask one last time before things get ugly. Does anybody else live here?”

“What do you want me to say? ‘Nope’ again? Look like a damn fool for saying the same exact thing twice?!”

Hive’s glare stung Peacock’s core.

Then she smiled and chuckled.

“I was just playing with ya!” Hive said, slapping Peacock’s arm. “I mean seriously, who wants to be living with you? Nobody!”

Peacock started awkwardly laughing with her, looking at her shoulder to see gold yellow goop. 

“Hey, what’s this goop thing for-“

Then it exploded, covering Peacock’s body in the goop.

“I- I can’t move! What the hell did you do to me?!” Peacock struggled.

Hive then kicked her down.

“Nobody except…” 

She readied her blaster and put it on a high level. She aimed towards the ceiling and shot. Then, Marie came crashing to the ground, coughing, holding her smoking hip.

“…the Skullgirl.” Hive spat out with such hatred and venom.

She shot the emergency alarm system, causing an alarm to go off.

“Who fixed the damn alarm?!?” Peacock exclaimed.

“S-Sorry Patricia…” Marie groaned.

“You two know each other? Well I’ll be damned. Doesn’t matter. Once the others come down here, it’s lights out. For both of you.”

* * *

** _A few hours ago…_ **

Filia went back to the rooftop that Carol brought her to last night.

“Last night, she said something about a “Valentine” and a “Brain Drain”... Do we know who they are, Samson?”

“Not that I can remember, no.”

“But she seemed hell bent on trying to kill them. They must’ve done that to her. And… they could’ve put the blame on me.” Filia picked up her mask that she dropped last night.

“Knowing how low they’d go to do that to a young girl, that wouldn’t be so far-fetched.”

“So we either need to find Carol or “Brain Drain” or Valentine.”

“Maybe going to a higher point might help us? Maybe even the highest?”

Filia froze. She looked up and saw that Medici Tower was the highest point in the city.

“Oh no. I don’t do so good with heights. Plus we can’t use an elevator to get to the top. And we are kinda enemies with the Medici, so I doubt they’ll let us use it in the first place.”

“Who says you need to go inside?” Samson grinned.

Filia gulped.

“SAMSON! TOO HIGH, TOO HIGH!!” Filia screamed.

Samson wrapped himself around her body and started climbing up the building like a monster.

“Not high enough, kid!”

“Please get this done faster!”

After a bit of climbing (and destruction), they managed to reach the top of the tower. Samson decided to stay in that form, seeing as how Filia probably couldn’t manage it.

“Huh. Not that bad of a view, eh kid?”

Filia was too busy shaking to answer.

“Now… where do you think we should go first?”

“...just put me down there.”

“There? It’s not even in the city.”

“I just want to touch the ground again…”

“Tch. Fine.”

He decided to jump, which Filia started screaming once again.

Samson shot a tendril, and swung from it. He then landed on a building and got to its rooftop. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop. After a while of jumping, they reached a grassy cliff in Maplecrest.

“Thanks for using the Samson Transportation Service.” Samson snickered.

As Samson turned back to his normal form, Filia’s legs shook before they gave out, causing her to fall to the ground.

“Never… do that… again… please…” Filia said, slowly getting back up.

“Can’t make any promises. Anyways, what made you choose this place out of all the places we could’ve gone to.”

“This is the place me and Carol used to go whenever we just wanted to chill out and be away from the rest of the city.”

“Ah. So were you expecting to meet her here or…”

“No. Well, kinda. But I didn’t have much hope.”

“Well, it’s ok. So we should start heading back now, huh?”

_ Clang _

“Huh? Samson, did you hear that?”

“Yeah. What do you think it is?”

As Filia went down the hill, she saw Carol smashing against a metal door on the ground.

“ **BRAIN DRAIN! COME OUT OF THERE AND DIE!!!** ” Carol yelled.

Filia shuddered.

She never heard Carol this… mad. She sounded bloodthirsty. Like some sort of monster who has been wounded.

She decided to slowly approach Carol.

Filia could now see how dented the door was.

As Filia was about to touch Carol, her Fuer Drive spun. Filia shrieked.

“What are  **you** doing here?!” She yelled.

“Carol, listen to me. Please.”

“I’m done listening! I’ve been turned into this because of you! You told your family and the Medici are in cahoots with Brain Drain!”

“Carol, please. Listen to me first. Then you can do whatever you want to me.”

“Wait, what!?” Samson exclaimed.

After a bit, Carol’s Fuer Drive then came to a halt as it fell to the ground.

“Fine.” She sat down.

Filia decided to sit down in front of her.

“Carol, I lost my memories, so I can’t remember what we were arguing about.”

“We argued over the fact that your Medici family was starting to target mine. For years, my family was fine. Until I became your friend. Months after being your friend, we somehow found ourselves in Medici business. Whether it be a robbery or shoot-out.”

Filia looked down to the ground.

“But… now that I think about it… you weren’t the type of person to order a hit on someone. I don’t know if you are now or not, but you HATED your extended family. For as long as you can remember.”

“Still do.”

“So… I guess it was just a coincidence. And I was too frustrated with our argument to really think properly. Turning into this didn’t help at all…”

“Carol…”

“So… I’m sorry, Filia. For trying to kill you and blaming this all on you. I don’t expect you to forgive me anytime soon, but I hoped this cleared some things up.”

Filia was near tears. She ran over to her and hugged her. Carol was taken back for a second before she started crying herself.

“I forgive you, Carol. I just hope that we can be friends again.”

Carol, for the first time in a year, smiled.

“I hope we can be friends again too.”

Filia smiled.

“Wait… what happened to your hair? Wasn’t it blonde a year ago?”

“Well…”

“Long time, no see, kid.”

“Samson? Why are you in her hair and not the dog?

“Long story.”

“Later then.”

“Yep. So… this Brain Drain character? Who is he?”

“I’ll talk about him another time.”

Then, Carol floated with her drive.

“Wanna lift back home?”

“Actually, I had enough heights for today. Plus, we can talk about Samson and Brain Drain on the way. So we should just walk.”

“Alright.”

For Filia it didn’t matter how long it took to get back to the Lab. She could spend all the hours away rekindling her friendship with Carol.

* * *

** _Now_ **

Filia was pooped. She couldn’t wait to lie down in her bed once again.

“So this is where you live?”

“Yeah. I got a few other friends that live here too. But it’s mainly Peacock and Marie’s place. I can talk to them to see if you can live here too.”

“Who are those two?”

“Peacock was the driver of the car last night and Marie is…er, was, the Skullgirl.”

“Yeah, you need to explain to me why you’re friends with her.”

“Once we get inside. We can talk to her that way.”

As Filia opened the door, she saw Peacock covered in a very yellow goop, Marie was pinned down and was shot, and saw 7 people ready to kill Marie and Peacock.

The one who was pinning down Marie looked familiar…

‘Oh! The girl in the picture!’ Filia thought.

“...bad time?” Filia asked.

“Oh no, your timing is impeccable.” Peacock replied.

“Who are you two?! More minions of the Skullgirl?” Leduc yelled.

Leduc was already livid with the news that Peacock was friends with the Skullgirl. Hearing more people that betrayed them and joined the Skullgirl’s cause made him  _ pissed. _

“Uh, minions?” Carol asked.

“We’re not?” Filia asked, questionly.

“Don’t act so surprised!” Peacock said.

“Well, I’m sorry I have no idea what the hell is going on!” Filia replied.

“Back off girls. I don’t want to hurt you.” Big Band said.

“Wait, where’s Squigly?” Filia asked.

“Who’s Squigly?” Everyone in the room asked.

“You know what? Doesn’t matter when I blow the Skullgirl’s brains over the wall!” Stanley raged, pointing a big Anti-Skullgirl gun to Marie’s head.

“Stanley, calm down!” Ileum yelled,

“This thing! This creature doesn’t deserve to live! It killed Dr. Avian! It pushed us from our home! It has caused death and destruction for countless innocents for decades! Centuries, even! And we finally have it in our grasp! We can kill it right now!” Stanley argued, whirring up his gun.

“Everyone stop!”

Everyone turned to Squigly.

“Sienna?” Big Band asked.

“It’s been a long time, Ben…”

“Another one!?!” Stanley asked.

“What is going on anymore?” Carol whispered in Filia’s ear.

“I don’t have the slightest clue.” Filia replied.

“It doesn’t matter! Stanley, kill the Skullgirl!” Leduc encouraged.

“Wait! The Skullgirl isn’t evil anymore!” Squigly said.

“Bullshit. Nobody can change just like that!”

“It’s true!” Peacock replied.

Hive slowly lowered her blasters.

“Why are you lowering your blasters?! Keep ‘em on her!” Leduc exclaimed at Hive.

“R-right…” She said, bringing up her blasters again.

“Don’t you guys see?! We’ve been training for this moment! We know that the Skullgirl is evil! We know we won’t kill the Skull Heart for good! But we can at least delay it for another 7 Years! It’s in your hands!” Stanley exclaimed.

Tension was high between every member in the room.

Even those who were confused by it all.

“You’re right.”

Everyone turned to see Marie, tears flowing softly down her face.

“I am a monster.”

“Marie…” Peacock said.

“Even if the Skull Heart was the one controlling me, I still did it. I wasn’t strong enough to fight it back then. That is, until Patricia helped me. We’ve been friends for as long as we can both remember. I even became the Skullgirl for her. To protect her and kill the Medicis for what they have done to both of us. I’m not trying to ask you to forgive me. If you kill me, just take care of Patricia for me.”

Marie said what she said and closed her eyes, waiting for death to happen.

Stanley’s gun whirred up and Leduc charged it up.

“Living Room.” Hive said.

“Huh?” The two asked.

“Living Room. Now.” Hive said, her blasters melting back to her shoulders. She walked to the living room. Everyone was in shock. Big Band and Ileum followed eventually. Tommy Ten-Tons and Andy Anvil hesitated before looking at their bosses face. They followed the three to the room, leaving Leduc and Stanley with the Skullgirl.

Stanley turned off the gun, grunted, and walked to the living room.

“Just because we’re not killing you now, doesn’t mean  _ we  _ forgive you.” Leduc said, walking to the Living Room.

Filia, Carol, and Squigly went to free Peacock. Carol carefully used her blades to cut a small section of the hardened goop. Alas, Peacock was free. She quickly ran over to Marie and helped her back up.

“Marie, you gonna be ok?”

“I’ll be fine, Patricia. Thank you.” Marie said, wiping off her tears

The two looked to Carol

“I see you’ve found your friend.” Marie said,

“Oh, yeah! Um, Carol, meet Marie, Peacock, and Squigly. Marie, Peacock, Squigly, Meet Carol.”

“Pleasure to finally meet you, Carol.” Squigly bowed.

“The same goes here.” Leviathan bowed too.

“Yeah, Yeah, plain and nice introductions are for chumps. Peacock’s the name, and don’t you forget it!”

“Hope we can get along. Well, if they decide to let me live that is.”

After introductions, the five girls went into the living room.

“What’s another piece of evidence you can give us?”

“Back when she attacked the Lab, I blasted her at full power and it didn’t even hurt her. A few minutes ago, I blasted her at a lower power and it burned her, weakening her tremendously. She’s more human than Skullgirl.” Hive said.

“How about this. We give her a few days.” Ileum suggested.

“What!?”

“I’m not asking you to become allies with her. But just give her a chance.”

“You know, I’m on Ileum’s side here. If Peacock trusts her, then…”

“Are you kidding? Please tell me that was a joke.” Stanley said.

“Fine. Let’s make it fair. In account of giving the Skullgirl a chance for a few days, raise your hand.”

Hive, Big Band, and Ileum raised their hands. Andy and Tommy looked down at the ground awkwardly before raising their hands.

Leduc and Stanley were outnumbered.

Stanley never felt so mad in his life. He just left for his lab.

“After all of this? After all we’ve trained for? It was all for nothing?!”

“Leduc…”

Leduc didn’t say another word. He just left the room.

“They’ll come around eventually.” Big Band said.

They looked to see the five girls standing there.

“I don’t want to be rude and call you Skullgirl all the time. What is your name?” Ileum said.

“Marie Korbel.”

Their eyes widened in surprise. But they continued on.

“Well, nice to meet the  _ real _ you, Marie.”

“The pleasure is all mine.”

As Hive, Big Band, And Ileum left, they got to somewhere safe.

“Did… did we hear that right?” Hive asked.

“I think we did…” Ileum replied.

* * *

** _One year ago…_ **

Patricia tried to open her eyes.

Even if they were gouged out, she tried to every now and then, just to hope that it was all a simple little nightmare. That she’d wake up in her shitty “bed” with Marie by her side. That everything would be the way it was before that night.

And she could see.

She could see again!

But… it all felt… weird. Like she can see from three different perspectives if she so wished to. She felt where her real eyes were supposed to be. All she felt was holes.

“Wh-what is happening to me?!” She cried out.

Her voice…

It was so robotic. It’s like they added a filter in her voice.

She also remembered her teeth. During the beating, she lost a lot of them. But she was speaking just fine. She was panicking, breathing heavily, holding her chest.

“What have I become?” She softly cried.

“What am I?”

“Marie…”

She quickly got up.

“Marie!”

She tried to run but everything felt so… stiff. She hasn’t walked in a long time. Replacing her legs with robotic ones didn’t help either.

She slammed on the door.

“Someone get me out of here!! Help!” She cried.

She realized what her hands looked like. They had big cartoon gloves on them. She took them off and saw the real hand beneath. Like everything else she noticed, it was robotic claws.

“SOMEONE EXPLAIN!! SOMEONE HELP!!” Peacock panicked.

“Someone… please…” Peacock curled into a ball and cried.

Then, the door opened.

If Peacock was being legitimately honest, he was a creepy looking man. He looked like a mad scientist ripped straight out of a cartoon.

Wait…

“Who are you? D-did you do this to me?!”

“Greetings, Patricia. My name is Dr. Avian. Yes, I did this. But it is only because your body was in critical condition. You needed to be repaired and simple prostheses wouldn’t do.”

“You… did all this to help me? But we don’t even know each other!”

“You’re correct on that one. But-“

“Marie!”

“Hm?”

“I’ve got to find Marie!”

“Calm down. Who’s Marie?”

“Marie Korbel! She’s- she’s all I have left in this stupid excuse of a world!”

“Oh, your friend? I’m sorry but we don’t know where she is.”

“Good! She’s doing a good job hiding then!” She tried to run past Dr. Avian, who put an arm in her way.

“Listen. I understand your motivation. But right now, you need to know what you’re capable of first.”

“But Marie doesn’t have that long!”

“You don’t know that. Have some more confidence in your friend. I’m sure she’s strong enough to wait for a while.

“...”

“C’mon. Why don’t we start now?”

“So… that would actually explain a whole lot. Why Peacock defended her and was with her. Why the Skullg-, Marie, has a soft spot for her.”

“Yeah… I’ve never seen Peacock care about something this much.” Big Band noted.

“...do you think this is right though?” Hive asked

“What do you mean?”

“Leduc and Stanley were far from happy when we stood up for her and I still have this small feeling that she might betray us.”

“Then why did you stand up for her?”

“...because… I believe Peacock. But after Valentine… it’s hard to trust anyone now…”

“I getcha. But we’ll be better prepared this time for betrayal.

* * *

Carol and Filia went back to Maplecrest to meet with the Wilsons. As they walked down the street, so many nostalgic feelings hit them.

“Oh! I remember! Jeez, you were so smug back then.”

“What are you talking about, I can still be smug.”

“Uh huh.” Carol laughed.

Then it was silent. Not one of awkwardness, but one of nostalgia. The wind, the fall leaves, the silent night.

“Remember Hive?”

“Hm? Oh, you mean that girl that dressed up like a bee?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, yeah. What about her?”

“I feel like I’ve seen her before, but I can’t remember anything. I was wondering if she rang a bell to you.”

“Well, not that I remember, no. But, maybe you should go talk to her about it.”

“Yeah… If we did meet before, maybe she can help get some memories back…”

As they arrived at their door, Carol was slightly shaking.

“Are you okay, Carol?”

“I wanna see my parents again… but knowing how they reacted last time…”

“Hey… get behind me, I’ll introduce them to you, is that okay?”

Carol nodded.

As she got behind Filia, Filia ringed the doorbell.

The living room lights went on, and footsteps got closer.

Then the door opened to reveal Bruce and Macy Wilson.

“Filia! Did you find her?” Macy asked.

“Yes, I did.”

“Oh thank god! Where is she?!?!”

“Before I tell you, I wanna say this.”

The couple nodded.

“A couple of evil scientists kidnapped her and turned her into something else.”

They gasped, Macy covering her mouth.

“Wait, she’s still Carol. But… have a look for yourself…”

Filia stepped to the side.

Macy and Bruce gasped once again.

“C-Carol?” Bruce asked.

Tears started forming up in Carol’s eyes.

“Mom… Dad…”

They ran into each other for a massive family hug a year in the making.

They started tearing up.

“We missed you so much, sweetie.”

“I miss you too!” Carol cried.

Filia swore a tear fell down her cheeks

“Thank you, Filia. Come on in.” Bruce said.

Filia joined in.

As they disbanded, Bruce and Macy directed their attention towards Filia.

“If there is  _ anything _ you need from us…”

“Oh no! There’s no need to! I just wanted to help you.”

Bruce, Macy, and Carol went inside. Before they closed the door, Carol came out and gave her another hug.

“Thanks, Filia.” She sniffed.

“No problem.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll come back to the Lab everyday to check on you guys.”

Filia nodded. Carol went inside and closed the door.

Filia yawned. “I’m glad we can close the book on this. Now time to walk back.”

“Fun.” Samson said, sarcastically.

Squigly arrived at the Living Room to see Filia on the couch.

“Hi.” Squigly said, sitting down next to Filia.

“Hi, Squigly.” Filia yawned.

“Tired?”

Filia nodded.

“It’s been a very long day for me. And confusing one.”

“I see. I will admit, what happened earlier today must be very confusing to someone who didn’t know anyone.”

“Yeah…”

After a moment of silence past the two, Squigly took a deep breath.

“Filia? I was wondering if… if we could go out and enjoy ourselves sometime? Go to a mall, walk around, relax?”

As she waited for a reply, she heard soft breathing.

Filia was already fast asleep.

Squigly sighed. But she smiled and got a blanket. She put it on Filia and left. 

“Maybe another day.”

Peacock and Marie were sitting outside on the patio, watching the sunset.

“Glad to see that went better than expected.” Peacock said.

“Agreed.”

“Now that Lab 8’s coming back, we shouldn’t have to worry about food or laying low.”

“...What is it, Patricia?” Marie asked, knowing she was implying something.

Peacock’s expression turned from one of relief to one of excitement.

“Annie is going to be at the NMO tomorrow for a fan signing! It’s going to be fun seeing other fans and-!”

Peacock coughed.

“I was hoping you could join me?”

Marie smiled. Apparently, Peacock’s enthusiasm was infectious.

“Sure.”

“Yes! Thanks Marie, you won’t be bored!”

“Getting bored spending time with you? Not a chance.”

Leduc was in the training grounds, practicing on the last sandbag that wasn’t torn to shreds.

As he continued his punches, he kept imagining the Skullgirl. With every thought of her, his punches got quicker. More strength. Until he was strong enough to punch the sandbag in two.

As Leduc took a breather, a black cloud with pink electricity formed behind him.

Leduc wasn’t a fool. He turned around and prepared himself.

A physical being formed from the cloud.

“Long time no see, Leduc.” 

“What do you want, Brain Drain?”

“I see they chose the Skullgirl over your wishes.”

“Yeah. It doesn’t involve you though…”

“On the contrary, it involves me quite a lot. You see,  _ you _ want to kill the Skullgirl,  _ Stanley _ wants to kill the Skullgirl,  _ I  _ want to kill the Skullgirl. We have that in common, don’t we?”

“...What are you implying?”

“I’m saying that we could work together. To take down the Skullgirl, once and for all. So, are you interested?” Brain Drain asked.

“Will you harm the others?”

“I will not. You have my word.”

“... What do I have to do?”


	6. Girl of the Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peacock and Marie, tagged with Filia, go to Annie’s convention, while the rest of Lab 8 check out Lab 0. Annie doesn’t like the feeling she gets with Marie.  
Not one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’d like to take a moment to hype up Annie as she’s coming to Skullgirls Mobile and 2nd Encore! She looks so cool and I can’t wait to hear Erica Mendez’s performance as her! With that said, enjoy!

Marie opened her eyes slowly. Once she came to, her head and body started hurting a lot. Attempting to get up, she held her head.

As her vision refocused and she remembered that she was in No Man’s Land.

“W-what are we doing here?”

“Ugh!”

As Marie turned around, she saw Peacock whizz past her and crash into a rock.

“PatriciaARGH!”

She got hit by a beam from behind. She fell to the ground once again.

“If I remember correctly, the Skullgirl was a strong powerful being, was it not?”

Marie attempted to get up, but she felt a boot on her back pushing her down.

“I mean of course they are. I’ve fought against two and was made who I am because of one.”

_ Shunk! _

“AAAGH!” Marie cried in pain.

Marie realized a blade went through her shoulder.

“But you… I’m baffled by how easy it was.”

Marie cried as the blade was slowly taken out of her shoulder.

Marie was kicked on her stomach, turning her around.

As she laid on her back, she took a closer look at the figure. As she looked at the figure, her eyes widened.

Annie. Girl of the Stars. The Girl Peacock is a fan of. And killer of two Skullgirls. About to be three if Marie didn’t come up with something in the next few seconds.

“You even had a da-“ She twitched.

She cleared her throat and restarted.

“You even had a darn henchman with you! No matter. I’ll kill you both the same!”

After all that happened for the last few days, something in Marie snapped.

Her eyes glowed up. The Skull Heart’s flame got stronger. Her attitude shifted.

“How dare you…”

She slapped Annie’s leg, making her lose her balance. Before Annie made contact with the ground, Marie kicked her in the stomach, causing her to fly a 15 feet away.

Annie quickly got back up and prepared herself.

“We loved you. SHE loved you. And you’re just going to treat us like shit! Like NOTHING!” She yelled.

“You’re the Skullgirl! Of course you’re nothing!”

Marie clutched her hands angrily. She grinded her teeth together.

“You know what? I’m going to show you who’s really  ** _nothing_ ** _ ! _ ” Marie spat out.

As Marie shot herself towards Annie, a part of her had to wonder what the hell happened? 

* * *

** _Earlier…_ **

Saying Peacock was thrilled would be the understatement Marie has ever known. Ever since they woke up, it’s all she’s talked about. Marie never saw her this giddy. Marie had to wear a hoodie to hide her back and control her flames to a small, almost nonexistent level. She also had to let her hair down to put a cap on.

This stuff felt weird to her. She hasn’t worn anything but that maid outfit for years, but Peacock really wanted her to come, so she would tolerate it.

“Woah, I have never been here before. This place is big.” Marie said in awe.

“Yep! The NMO has an arena around here too! There’s a fight going on right now between two schmucks. I think one of them is called Beowulf, I don’t know.”

As easy it would be to float over all these people, Marie held back on it.

She looked at the right side. She saw a red haired woman, all giddy and excited like Peacock, dragging around a pink haired kid, who looked like she just wanted to go home already. Marie giggled at the sight. 

“You’d think it’d be the other way around.” Marie said to herself.

But she couldn’t help but feel a connection to the pink haired one… and not because she felt her pain…

But Marie just brushed it off.

“Oh, the Princess is here…”

“Wait, that’s Parasoul?”

“Yep. And that brat with her is Umbrella, her sister.”

“Huh.”

Marie bumped into someone, causing both her and the person to fall over.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Marie said, getting up.

She realized who she bumped into.

“Oh shit, Marie, you just bumped into Annie!” Peacock whispered.

“No, no, it’s alright. I wasn’t looking where I was going too.” Annie said, brushing herself off. “So I’m assuming that you’re here for the signing?”

Peacock was too busy stuttering to answer.

“Calm down, boss!” Avery said.

“Yes, they are! Sorry, my step sisters are a bit of a hassle!”

The two turned around and saw Filia.

“Oh, no worries. Well, I hope to see you three later.”

And with that, Annie walked away.

“Step sisters, huh? Would one happen to be… nah, it’s probably nothing.” Annie thought to herself.

“What the hell are you doin’ here?” Peacock asked

“I was just bored and there wasn’t much to do, so I just came here.” Filia said.

“What about Sienna?” Marie asked.

“She left with the others. All of them were gone when I woke up. Except for Ileum and the kids.”

“Jeez, hasn’t been one day and they’re already out on a mission.” Peacock muttered, facepalming.

* * *

** _Elsewhere…_ **

“Jeez kid. Didn’t know you were that strong.” Big Band said.

The Lab 8 Crew arrived at what is supposedly Brain Drain’s secret hideout. The door was busted open.

“I didn’t do that?” Carol replied.

“Weird. Think someone else has a vendetta against him?” Hive asked.

“Not sure. Wouldn’t be surprised though.” Leduc said.

“...who wants to go in first?” Squigly asked.

Big Band wasted no time. He jumped down. After a while of falling, he activated his rockets to slow down his fall.

“Woah.” Carol said.

“Yep.” Hive said.

Hive and Leduc grabbed each other’s hand and jumped. Hive did the same thing, only with a jet pack.

Carol prepared her Fuer Drive, grabbed Squigly’s hand, and jumped in as well, spinning her Fuer Drive whenever she felt it was necessary.

As they landed, she looked around. Even looking at the walls felt painful for Carol.

There were two ways they could go.

Carol, Squigly, And Hive made up one team, and Leduc and Big Band made up the other.

“Okay, now be careful. There could be some traps for us.” Big Band said.

“Got it.” Leduc replied.

There was a room to their left.

“I’ll stay on look out. You go in there.” Leduc said.

Big Band nodded.

As Big Band entered the room, the monitor turned on.

“Hey, Ben. It’s been a while.” Brain Drain said.

The door closed.

“Ben? Ben! What’s happening?” Leduc asked.

Before Big Band could respond, knockout gas entered the room. Now normally, normal knockout gas wouldn’t even faze Ben. But this is Brain Drain we’re talking about. He would find a way…

After a fit of coughing, Big Band succumbed to the gas and fell over.

“Good Ben.” Brain Drain said, turning off the gas.

Leduc sighed as he opened the door.

“I don’t see the purpose of doing that.” Leduc said.

“It’ll help us plan things. And I didn’t hurt him, did I not?”

Leduc got to the computer and connected Brain Drain’s computer to Lab 8. The security, the camera systems, everything.

Back to the girls, they entered a room Carol was all too familiar with.

“Miss Carol, are you alright?” Leviathan asked.

Carol was shaking.

“Hey… are you alright?” Hive asked.

“T-this…”

Carol could no longer take it. She got on her knees and started puking. Squigly and Hive quickly knelt down to comfort Carol.

“What’s wrong, Carol?!” Squigly asked.

“This… this was the room… the room where I got turned into this.”

Hive clutched her hands angrily.

“I don’t know if she did it to any more people. But I swear to god, Valentine will pay for this…” Hive spat.

“You can relax here or somewhere else safe. Me and Hive can go further.” Squigly said.

“Alright…” Carol sighed.

As the two left, Carol had time to relax.

She took deep breaths.

But every time she looked up and saw that operating table, everything just came back.

She got up and threw the table into the monitors. She destroyed everything in sight before collapsing to the floor and crying. 

* * *

As Beowulf was flexing in the mirror, glad of his victory over his opponent, Annie sat down on a bench, contemplating her feelings from earlier.

“I just don’t get it… What I was feeling towards that girl… she’s the Skullgirl… but why would she be here of all places?” 

“Look at these bad boys! Who’s the champion? I am!” Beowulf shouted.

Annie ignored him. She lived with Beowulf in his, honestly really disgusting, apartment, so he was  _ somewhat _ manageable. She didn’t really have anywhere she could go, really. She didn’t want to live in a mansion or house that was owned by the Medicis anyways, so she’d much rather prefer that.

“If she was here to destroy this place, she would’ve done so already. Unless… she wants to fight me.”

“These guns! Hmph!”

“That’s it! Probably to get rid of me before I try to stop her.” Annie said, grabbing her sword and sheathing it. She grabbed Sagan as well.

“Well, if it’s a fight she wants, it’s a fight she’s going to get.”

“THESE ARE AWARD WINNING MUSCLES!”

“Beowulf, SHUT UP!!” Annie had enough. She got up and walked away, grumbling.

“Jeez. Wonder what’s gotten into her… oh well.” Beowulf continued his “Wulf Flexes.”

“Y’know, I was expecting this Cotton Annie Candie to taste like utter shite. But this is actually pretty good!” Peacock said, stuffing her face with said candy.

“I agree. It is pretty good.” Marie said, eating the small pieces in her hand.

The Annie Signing event was going to start in 3 minutes and luckily, the three got a spot in line that wasn’t too far away.

In front of her was Parasoul and Umbrella.

“We've been here for a few hours, sis. How much longer are we gonna be here?” Umbrella whined. She appeared to be in a slight pain. She clutched her chest and her eyes winced in pain.

“I’m sorry, but the Egrets are busy. Nobody can supervise you.” Parasoul said.

“I don’t need any supervising!” Umbrella said, clutching her heart.

“Maybe I could.”

The two turned to Filia.

Peacock looked at her as if she lost her damn mind.

“Sorry, but I don’t know if I can trust a stranger with her.”

Umbrella saw an opportunity to escape.

“Oh, It’s okay. I just heard that she didn’t want to wait in line and I wanted to help.”

“No, I wanna go with her! Pleaaasee!” Umbrella begged.

Parasoul was confused. Usually she doesn’t beg for anything except ice cream.

She sighed.

“Fine.”

Umbrella cheered. Parasoul turned to face Filia.

“Don’t do anything that harms her. Or else.” Parasoul said, shooting daggers out of her eyes.

Filia gulped.

“Never crossed my mind!”

As the two went off, the three didn’t notice Annie taking a seat. The line cheered, getting their attention.

“OhmygoshohmygoshOHMYGOSSHH!” Peacock whispered in excitement.

“YEESS!” Parasoul noticed the line looking at her. She coughed. “I mean, it’s about time.”

Filia and Umbrella ate their ice cream at a table that was at the other side of the area.

“So, how's your sister like? Y’know, being a princess and captain of the Egrets and all that.” Filia asked.

“Meh. I don’t get to see much of her and when I do, she’s very overbearing.”

“Hm.”

Silence.

“I guess the pain went away… I guess ice cream does solve everything.”

“Pain?” Filia asked.

“Earlier, my heart felt like it was going to burst! It was so agonizing. But after eating ice cream, everything feels so much better!”

“Huh. That’s weird. Did you tell your sister that?”

“Oh no! No, no, no, no, NO. If I do, I’m gonna be in the medical facility for a day. Maybe a day and a half!”

“Well, if it hurt that much, shouldn’t we check on it?”

“Or let the kid do whatever she wants!”

“Yeah, what the Hairball said!”

“If she dies, then it’ll be all her.”

“Yeah! Let me die by my own accord!”

“...Samson, remind me to keep you as far away from the kids as possible…” Filia said, rubbing her forehead.

After she signed Parasoul’s, er, everything Annie related, Peacock and Marie were next. Peacock gave her her favorite poster. Before Annie signed it, she looked up to them. She came closer to the two and whispered.

“Stay behind me after I sign this. I’ll get to you after a while.”

She returned to signing the poster and gave it to the two. Peacock was so in shock, Marie grabbed her hands and dragged her behind Annie.

“Marie! We! We! We just got ourselves a personal talk with ANNIE! I don’t know if I can stand anymore.”

Marie chuckled. “Patricia, calm down. I know this must be exciting, but please control yourself.”

“Alright, Fine!” She huffed, crossing her arms.

‘Oh, it’s going to be exciting alright.’ Annie thought, smirking.

**A Few Hours Ago...**

Hive and Squigly arrived at a very large room. Before they fully went in they checked their surroundings, making sure nobody was following them. As they went inside, Leviathan lit up the room with his tail.

“Thank you, Leviathan.”

“My pleasure.”

It was a weird place to say the least. There were a few containers with a green liquid in it. But other than that, nothing. There was a huge monitor that was shut down. As Hive turned it on, they didn’t notice the blue-haired nurse on the ceiling. She could do anything to them and they wouldn’t notice it. Throw syringes at them, shurikens, maybe knock them out unconscious. But she smirked knowing the lavender-haired’s thoughts towards her.

She stood up.

“You know it’s not ladylike to go through personal equipment, Hannah.”

“Valentine…” She gritted her teeth in anger. She looked up to stare her in her eye.

“Oh you remember me, I’m flattered.”

“With the stuff you’ve done?! The lives you hurt?! The ones you’ve taken away?! Yeah, who wouldn’t forget you.”

“Look. I’m not supposed to be here.”

“Well, you don't deserve being alive so I guess it all evens out.”

She sighed.

“Look, Brain Drain is going to kill every single one of you for protecting the Skullgirl. And for booting him out.”

“And why do you expect us to trust you?l

“Listen. I know you hate me, and the stuff I’ve done… I never wanted to do them. I’m still at fault for it all… But if I had a choice, I wouldn’t have gone down this path. But now, Brain Drain is taking everything to the next degree. He’s trying to kill you and the Skullgirl. He doesn’t matter what lengths he has to go. I even heard him considering assisting the Medici Mafia.”

Squigly and Hive’s eyes widened.

“And how do you know all this if you’re ‘not supposed to be here’?”

“After all that, I’ve had enough working for Brain Drain. So I told him I’m done and he tried to kill me. Which… you already know that result.”

Hive crossed her arms.

“Please. I know I haven’t had the best track record with you guys, but you have to believe me. It’s life and death.”

Hive and Squigly looked at each other, both of them not knowing what to say.

“Sorry, but we don’t need your help.” Hive said.

Valentine sighed.

“Fine. Just know when you’re trapped in the rubble of your home with no way out, betrayed by someone you cared about, don’t expect any help from me.”

The computer made a glitchy noise. Squigly and Hive quickly looked at the computer, then back at where Valentine was, only to see that she vanished.

Leduc and Big Band joined the two in the room.

“Easy, Ben.” Leduc said.

“What happened?”

“Brain Drain locked him in a room and it had this weird knockout gas. I was outside trying to help but I couldn’t get in until after it was over. Where’s Carol?”

“Oh, she’s-“

“Here.”

Leduc was startled by Carol’s sudden appearance.

“Are you okay, Ms. Carol?” Leviathan asked.

“Yeah… I’ll be fine.”

“Okay. Well, we came up short on our end. Let’s just leave before it gets too late.” Leduc said.

Everyone nodded and left.

“Oh, there you two are.” 

Parasoul caught up to Filia and Umbrella.

“Hey, sis.”

“Hello, Your Highness.”

After Umbrella got up from the seat, Filia also got up to leave.

“Thank you. If it’s anything, I can give you a ride to your home.”

“Ah, no, it’s fine. I gotta wait for my friends.”

“Alright, well, thanks again.” 

As Parasoul and Umbrella walked out of the building, Filia ran over to Marie and Peacock.

“So, are we ready to go back?”

“Nope! Annie is going to talk to us in private!” Peacock said, trying so hard to contain her giddish outburst.

“Oh… If that’s the case, I’ll be going home now.”

“Cya!”

“Take care!”

As Filia ran out of the building, Peacock realized.

“Hey, Uh, how’s she gonna get home?”

Marie shrugged.

As Parasoul and Umbrella got onto the helicopter, the pilot pointed towards Filia.

“I thought you said you needed to wait for your friends?”

“They’re staying. If it’s not too late, can I take that ride home?”

“Sure. Hope on in.”

As Filia jumped in and strapped her seltbeat in, Parasoul asked her where she lives.

“I live over there!” She pointed towards Lab 8.

Parasoul’s eyes widened.

“There?”

“Yeah!”

“I-Is Big Band, Ileum, or any of the Lab 8 members there?”

“Yep!”

“So they survived…” Parasoul murmured.

After a little bit of flight, they arrived at their destination. Before the helicopter landed, they saw the Lab 8 Crew walking towards the entrance.

“Wait, is that?” Leduc asked.

As the helicopter landed, Parasoul and Filia got up and got out of the helicopter.

“Hello, guys. Nice to see you’re doing well.”

“Princess.” Big Band said.

“So, what are you guys returning from?”

“Oh, we had a personal mission we had to check out.”

“Well, I’m glad to see you’re still on top of things. We will hunt down the Skullgirl someday to avenge Dr. Avian and the rest of those lives lost in the Skullgirl’s hands.” Parasoul said.

As everyone slightly sweated a bit, they audibly agreed.

“Oh, I never got your name.”

“Oh, my bad! Filia.”

“Well, thanks for looking out for Umbrella. Maybe I may call you over to do it again, if you’re okay with that.”

“Really? I’d totally be down.”

“Great. Anyways I have my own business I have to attend to.”

“Like hanging up all these Annie posters again!” Umbrella yelled from the copter.

“Uh, uhm, for Umbrella’s Room! Yeah, yeah! I’ll catch up with you all later.” Parasoul said, running into the helicopter, attempting to hide her blush.

As she flew away, they all chuckled.

“Her love for Annie’s cute.” Hive said.

“Speaking of, Filia, where’s Peacock and Marie?”

“Well, Annie said she wanted to talk with them privately.”

As Squigly, Hive, Leduc, and Carol thought that was ok, Big Band…

“Uh oh.”

Everyone looked at him.

“Uh oh?” Hive asked.

“I forgot about this... Annie’s attached to the Skull Heart, due to her mother, so she’s able to sense the Skullgirl whenever she’s near.”

Everyone’s eyes widened, except for Leduc.

“Oh…” Filia said.

“Great. First we babysat them, then Umbrella, and now it’s a rescue mission. This day just keeps on getting better…” Samson complained.

“How about we cease our useless complaints and go?” Leviathan said.

Marie opened her eyes slowly. Once she came to, her head and body started hurting a lot. Attempting to get up, she held her head.

As her vision refocused and she remembered that she was in No Man’s Land.

“W-what are we doing here?”

She then remembered it all.

After the signing, Annie took them to the back of the arena, and knocked them unconscious. She must’ve taken them to No Man’s Land. So, uh… where was Peacock?

“Ugh!”

As Marie turned around, she saw Peacock whizz past her and crash into a rock.

“PatriciaARGH!”

She got hit by a beam coming from Sagan from behind. She fell to the ground once again.

“If I remember correctly, the Skullgirl was a strong powerful being, was it not?” Annie said. 

Marie attempted to get up, but she felt Annie’s boot on her back pushing her down.

“I mean of course they are. I’ve fought against two and was made who I am because of one.” Annie stabbed the sword through Marie’s shoulder.

_ Shunk! _

“AAAGH!” Marie cried in pain.

“But you… I’m baffled by how easy it was.”

Marie cried as the blade was slowly taken out of her shoulder.

Marie was kicked on her stomach, turning her around.

“You even had a da-“ She twitched.

She cleared her throat and restarted.

“You even had a darn henchman with you! No matter. I’ll kill you both the same!”

After all that happened for the last few days, something in Marie snapped.

Her eyes glowed up. The Skull Heart’s flame got stronger. Her attitude shifted.

“How dare you…”

She slapped Annie’s leg, making her lose her balance. Before Annie made contact with the ground, Marie kicked her in the stomach, causing her to fly a 15 feet away.

Annie quickly got back up and prepared herself.

“We loved you. SHE loved you. And you’re just going to treat us like shit! Like NOTHING!” She yelled.

“You’re the Skullgirl! Of course you’re nothing!”

Marie clutched her hands angrily. She grinded her teeth together.

“You know what? I’m going to show you who’s really  ** _nothing_ ** _ ! _ ” Marie spat out.

Marie flew towards Annie as fast as she could. Annie prepared herself. Marie covered her hand with bones. So when Marie threw a punch, Annie tried to chop her hand off, but to no avail. Marie turned around, dodging Annie’s sword swings. She grabbed her sword, threw it away, and uppercuts Annie away. As soon as Annie jumped back into action, she went fist-to-fist with Marie. The two were evenly matched. Once Annie realized how useless fist-fighting would be, she kicked Marie out of the way, and ran to retrieve her sword. Before Annie could grab the sword, a giant skeleton hand popped out from the ground and grabbed her sword before she did. When she turned around to locate Marie, it was already too late. Marie kicked her in the face and Annie crashed into the hand.

Both were breathing very heavily, Annie slightly struggling to get up.

“Y’know… I think I might’ve been too drastic… maybe I should’ve given you a chance to explain everything…” Annie said, between breaths.

“You think?” Marie said.

“Yeah, I do… I-I’m Sorry. Truce?” Annie said, bringing out her hand.

Marie was reluctant to shake it, but she grabbed it anyways.

Annie used this chance to pull on Marie’s hand and knee her in the stomach. She then kneed her stomach again, her legs, and her face constantly. She then gripped onto her arm and slammed Marie to the ground. As Marie was attempting to crawl away, breathing heavily, and whimpering a slight bit, the skeleton hand broke into thousands of tiny pieces. Annie grabbed her sword.

“Finally. Say your prayers, Skullgirl.” Annie said, raising her sword.

“Wait!!”

Annie turned to Peacock.

“What do  _ you _ want? Your time will come up eventually. Unless you want me to end you off first.”

“No! I’m trying to tell you that Marie isn’t evil!”

“That’s bull.” Annie said.

“It’s true.”

Annie recognized that voice from somewhere.

“B-Ben?”

She turned around to see the Lab 8 Crew.

“Y-you… you were the one that said that these two were your step-sisters.” She pointed towards Filia.

“I mean… if this is a family of sorts, then I wouldn’t be lying.”

“And you… Sienna?”

Squigly nodded.

"...I-... The… The Skullgirl is evil! Always has been! Why are you all defending her?! Why do you claim she isn’t evil?!"

"Because Marie's stronger than that."

“She is, Eh?”

Annie turned back around to Marie, breathing heavily, struggling to get back up.

Marie was using her remaining strength to push herself back up.

Then, a hand appeared in her sight. She looked up at Annie.

"It's not a trick this time. I promise."

Marie grabbed her hand and Annie pulled her back up. Then Annie made a fake out dash towards Marie, who flinched.

Annie burst out laughing. "I'm sorry. I saw the chance and I couldn't let it up!"

"Why did you believe them so easily?"

"The Skullgirl coming to a public place and doing absolutely nothing? You were nice too. I was a little weirded out by that."

Marie's healing finally finished up, but she still had a very small limp.

"Thanks…"

"Don't. I should apologise."

"No need to."

“Hey… I know this is a lot to ask. Especially seeing as I just tried to kill you, but… I still wanna keep an eye on you, and…. oh hell, I’m sure Beo wouldn’t mind me leaving. Do you guys have any more room in that lab?”

Everyone looked at each other.

As the Lab 8 Crew finally arrived at the Lab, Annie was the first one to bounce out with Ben and Leduc showing her around. She took Carol’s old room.

Carol bid everyone goodnight for the day as she flew off back to Maplecrest.

Hive and Squigly brought Filia to Hive’s room to talk about something that happened in Lab 0.

Peacock and Marie were the only ones staying outside.

“Marie, this is awesome!!” Peacock whispered. “Annie of the Stars living under the same roof as ours!!!”

“I guess that’s exciting…”

“Marie, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing…”

“Well, it is if you’re so down like this.”

“I said it’s nothing.”

“Marie, there is something. Why aren’t you being honest with m-“

“Oh, you really wanna know  _ that  _ badly, huh?! Okay, well it’s the amount of people up our ass trying to kill us, including that star girl of yours!!! That’s what!!! Now stop asking!!”

Peacock was startled at that sudden outburst.

Marie noticed her expression and cleared her throat.

“Sorry… it’s just… Ever since that fight with Annie, a part of the Skull Heart slightly regained a part of me.”

“Oh Shit… so if you keep cracking under pressure…”

“No. The only thing it’ll do is make me a lot more prone to aggression. The Skull Heart, even though its flame still roars, is dead.”

“Oh okay. Phew!” Peacock said, wiping off sweat.

As the two went inside and to the kitchen, Annie was already there.

“Oh, I was going to go look for you two.”

“Why so?”

“Well… Today I’ve lied and attempted to kill the both of you. So if there’s anything you want from me…”

“Thank you. We’ll keep that in mind.”

“PUT ME IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF YOUR SHOW!” Avery said, popping out of Peacock’s hat. Peacock shoved him back in.

“Don’t.” Peacock clarified.

“Well, I think it’ll be safe to tell Filia what happened, right?” Squigly asked Hive.

“Sure.” She replied.

“But what about me?” Samson said.

“Hmmm… To Be Announced…”

Filia chuckled slightly.

“Okay, well, when we went to Lab 0, we met someone named Valentine. The one who turned Carol into… Y’know.”

“Oh… what happened there?”

“She was warning us. Trying to help us.”

“Why?”

“We don’t know.”

“It just doesn’t make any damn sense.” Hive began. “Knowing how smart and calculating Valentine is… she might’ve been telling the truth. But, at the same time, she’s betrayed us before. She’s done so much horrible stuff.”

“She even says that she regrets them.” Squigly said.

“I don’t know… we’ll figure that out later. Let’s just get some shuteye.”

As Squigly left, Filia thought back to what Carol said last night. 

“ _ But, maybe you should go talk to her about it.”  _ Filia remembered.

“Hey, Hannah?”

“Hm?”

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

“Well, Uh… Do you know me? Like before we met yesterday? Cuz, you seem… familiar.”

Hive had a blank expression, worrying Filia to her very core. She looked down in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, it was a weird thing to ask-“

“I did.”

Filia’s eyes widened.

“Huh?”

“I can’t believe you don’t remember me. We used to be really tight.”

“H-huh? I…”

“I guess I should start from the very top… tomorrow.”

“Alright… I guess I’ll go to bed now. Good night.”

“Night.”

As Filia lied in her bed, she was left to her thoughts.

_ ‘When did I meet her?’ _

_ ‘How did I meet her?’ _

_ ‘Most importantly, how close were we?’ _

As she thought more and more, she got more tired, and before long she fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will mostly be about Hive and Filia’s previous relationship, aka something that’s not in the continuity but screw it, I have an idea for Hive and Leduc’s backstory and I wanted to bridge them with Filia.  
Side note: Sorry for the long hiatus. I’m not promising this, but I’ll try to update at least one of my fics every 2 to 4 weeks. It’s not a promise, but I’ll try to adhere to this.


End file.
